A British father died on a dream family trip to Walt Disney World after ingesting the synthetic opioid fentanyl.
Philip Weybourne was on holiday with his wife and young son back in May when he suddenly fell ill. Weybourne was from West Malling, Kent.
The 40-year-old father collapsed and died after going to a bar at Disney’s Yacht Club Resort hotel, an inquest at Maidstone County Hall has been told.
A blood test following his death found that he had fatal levels of fentanyl in his system (a powerful synthetic opioid similar to morphine).
You can read the statement read at the inquest below:
“We began our holiday at Disneyland in Orlando, Florida on May 20, 2022. On May 23, we woke up late and had no theme parks to attend on that day.
It was going to be a relaxing day, we booked a meal at the Boat House, a seafood restaurant at Disney Springs, which is also home to tours in vintage amphibious automobiles.
My son and I had been shopping and we met with Philip at 1pm at the Boat House. We had the best lunch, we drunk champagne like we did when we lived in Dubai.
Afterwards we went on an amphibious car ride and to end our day we headed back to the hotel at about 5:30pm.”
LBC
The inquest heard Mr. Weybourne had gone to the bar and two hours later his wife heard a knock at her hotel room door and she was told that her husband had been taken in an ambulance to the hospital.
The doctors told Mrs. Weybourne that her husband had died from cardiac arrest. Following his autopsy, it was revealed that Mr. Weybourne had fatal levels of fentanyl in his system.
You can read what Catherine Wood, Assistant coroner, said at the inquest below:
“This must have been very difficult and distressing for Mr Weybourne’s family. I don’t know the circumstances that led up to his death as Mr Weybourne died in another country.
He had no underlying health issues and I am content, after the findings of the autopsy, that his death was caused by fatal levels of fentanyl, a synthetic opioid used as a pain medication.
I offer my sincere condolences to Mr Weybourne’s family. It must have been a great shock and not something you needed to relive at the inquest. I hope you can begin to rebuild your lives.”
LBC
Mrs. Weybourne, Mr. Weybourne’s mother, and sister attended the inquest via video link. Stay tuned for further updates.
Stay tuned to Orlando Theme Park Zone for more Orlando theme park-related news and information.
H/T LBC, Inside The Magic
